The picture
by TheCookieDistrict
Summary: Just a little drabble about Carson/Hughes.
1. Chapter 1

Carson opened the drawer in his desk. He had hidden an old photograph of her. Well, not solely of her, it showed all of the staff in front of the big house. Lord Grantham had it taken ages ago in a moment of anticipated nostalgia, while the photographer had come to the estate to take pictures of the girls and the family. Carson had found it rather foolish then to waste all this time and money for a stupid photograph but now he felt glad about it. It was the only picture to help him remember what she looked like when she came to the Abbey. At first he wasn't even sure why he kept it and he certainly had never meant to fall in love with the woman standing next to him in the photograph. But there was something about her. Her disarming smile had made him quite uncomfortable at times. She was quick and efficient, always committed to her duties, strict towards her staff but everybody knew she had a heart as big as Yorkshire and anybody could easily find a place in it. Maybe even him.

A knock on the door. Someone stepping into his pantry without waiting for an answer. „Mr. Carson isn't it the time to ring the gong?!" Surprised he let the picture fall onto his desk. „Is it, Mrs. Hughes?" - „Most certainly! You're quite lost at times these days! Daydreaming does not really suit you, Mr. Carson." Her sparkling smile made him let out a deep sigh. „Seems I'm getting old then." he replied and lifted his eyebrows in unison with one corner of his mouth. (How she loved when he did this!) She looked a bit worried now. „I wouldn't say so. Is everything alright? What do you have there?" She was quite nosy, he had to admit. He always suspected she was one of those women who collected other peoples' secrets somewhere in a little box hidden underneath her bed – but only to keep them safe. And somehow this only added to her charms. „The past is what I have here." Her face formed a questioning look. „Here, see for yourself" he smiled and left the room to finally ring that gong.

She really couldn't remember the day the photograph was taken. It must have been shortly after she had arrived at Downton. Everything was new and different then and out of the ordinary for her, so it hadn't found a special place in her memory. But maybe in his? He looked rather dashing then she had to admit and while he certainly still was a handsome man now, his full grown stubbornness had the power to make her furious at times! Her lips formed an unconscious smile while she allowed her thumb to softly stroke across his face in the picture.

„By the way, have you made up your mind about the cottage?" Now she was the one to be surprised to turn around to his frame in the door. „W-w-well, I think we should take it. It certainly needs a little work done before we can put it up for rent but it's nice and solid and it doesn't get any better than that." - „That's settled then. I'll set a date to sign the papers." Settled, simple as that. Her heart suddenly skipped a little beat.


	2. Chapter 2

Her hands felt shaky and cold. She put on her gloves. A last check in the mirror.

„Are you ready, Mrs. Hughes?"

„As ready as I'll ever be." She turned around and smiled at him trying to radiate confidence while every fiber of her being was in an uproar. She felt like her body consisted of millions of fluttering insects, her stomach was turning upside down, her legs felt like someone had removed the bones and now she had to walk on the mushy stuff that was left.

It's just a signature, she tried to calm herself down. A signature that somehow tied her to this man, a man she had been secretly in love with for more than ten years. Ten years. TEN YEARS!

She told herself to focus. She could not let her emotions overwhelm her now. This was quite ridiculous. If he had known... he may never have proposed to buy the property in the first place! It was just a cottage, for heaven's sake! They would brush it up a bit, find a nice couple who would move in for rent and later share the outcome. Easy as that.

„Are you cold? You look a bit shaky. I wouldn't want you to get sick!"

„No, really I'm fine, Mr. Carson. It's just the prospect of something of this... [she's struggling for words] importance."

His face suddenly opened up, even seemed starting to glow a bit. He managed a smile.

She hurried to explain herself: „I... I mean we could lose quite a lot of money, just imagine it burning down or the tenants could not afford the rent and leave it in a state or maybe..."

One of his furry brows climbed all the way up to let his face form a question mark. „Mrs. Hughes! Weren't you the one to tell ME we had to live a little? What if a bomb goes off? Remember?"

She chuckled and shook her head. „Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I feel so shaken by too many worries lately. I shouldn't let them get the better of me."

„It would not be like you," he nearly whispered.

Oh, heavens! Not in this voice, this voice which made her all fluttering butterflies again!

„I know, I know. Let's go then! No more worries, Mr. Carson. I promise!"


End file.
